Louie Gohmert, who refused to wear a mask, tests positive for coronavirus
[Politico, Getty Images]
The Texas Republican received the diagnosis during a pre-screening procedure at the White House on Wednesday morning.
Rep. Louie Gohmert — a Texas Republican who has been walking around the Capitol without a mask — has tested positive for the coronavirus, according to multiple sources.
Gohmert was scheduled to fly to Texas on Wednesday morning with President Donald Trump and tested positive in a pre-screen at the White House. The eighth-term Republican told CNN last month that he was not wearing a mask because he was being tested regularly for the coronavirus.
“[I]f I get it,” he told CNN in June, “you’ll never see me without a mask.”
Reps. Mario Diaz Balart (R-Fla.), Neal Dunn (R-Fla.), Morgan Griffith (R-Va.), Mike Kelly (R-Pa.), Ben McAdams (D-Utah) and Tom Rice (R-S.C.) have tested positive for the virus, along with Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.).
In May, Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) turned down the administration’s offer of rapid testing for the Capitol. Some lawmakers — mostly Republicans — decline to use face coverings while in the building.
Gohmert attended Tuesday’s blockbuster House Judiciary Committee hearing with Attorney General William Barr in person, where lawmakers were seated at some distance from one another.
BY JAKE SHERMAN